Ordinance: Compensation for elected offices can only be increased prior to election

By Mary Kincy

managingeditor@couriernews.com

Russellville aldermen moved to limit the period during which the compensation given those elected to office in the city can be altered at a meeting earlier this week.

Under the new ordinance - which was read at Thursday's council meeting - the city would only be able to increase the compensation for offices of aldermen, mayor, city attorney and city clerk during the period between June and September "of the year in which those positions are subject to an election."

Alderman Phil Carruth, attending his final meeting as a member of the council following an unsuccessful bid for mayor in November, spoke in favor of the measure.

"We've had episodes where people were asking for raises after they won election," he said, adding those considering a run for elected office should know the pay level in advance.

"I think its pretty obvious what we need to do here," Carruth said.

Aldermen voted unanimously in favor of the measure.

Inglewood improvement issues

Also Thursday, the council heard from Russellville resident Gerald McAnulty, whose property on South Inglewood Avenue is expected to be impacted by a state improvement project that will widen the roadway and provide for drainage, in addition to adding an eight-foot sidewalk which will later be incorporated in the city's trails plan.

McAnulty called the project "unnecessary" and noted it would require the removal of a wheelchair ramp providing access to his home.

Carruth asked Kurt Jones, a city engineer, to organize a meeting between interested parties in hopes of determining whether a reasonable compromise might be reached.

Alliance property leased

Aldermen split a vote that would grant a local farmer a five-year lease on city-owned property near the site of a planned intermodal facility after city leaders negotiated a contract that would allow leaders to renegotiate the lease rate on an annual basis despite the contract.

Lynn Embry, the current lessee, pays $25 an acre for the right to farm the property, some 200-plus acres.

Alderman Larry Holman, prior to the vote, questioned why the city did not conduct a bid process to lease the land, which must be vacated, with compensation provided for costs incurred, when the city readies to develop it for industrial use.

Jeff Pipkin, director of the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development, when asked to speak to the matter, said Embry was a good steward of the property, notifying officials of potential problems, and claimed the rent was comparable to others in the area.

Alderman Garland Steuber, one of only two alderman returning in January, dissented.

"I would just like to say that $25 an acre sounds like a minimal amount on what I would call (good) bottom-land property," he said.

The measure passed.

Executive session yields no action

An eight-minute executive session entered into during the meeting to discuss "a personnel matter" yielded no action, Carruth said.

Executive sessions are not open to the public, but are limited in scope, and any action taken therein is subject to a public vote.

Later in the meeting, Carruth moved to table consideration of a resolution directing Tracey Cline-Pew, the city's human resources coordinator, "regarding personnel files."

Public hearing set

Aldermen set a date for a public hearing on a request by Leon Koerth to abandon a portion of a 20-foot alleyway in the city.

The hearing will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at Russellville City Hall.

Other business

In other business, aldermen agreed to appoint Frank Russenberger to the board of directors for City Corporation, Russellville's water utility; approved a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to sign an easement on property at the Russellville Regional Airport; appointed Chloe Lieblong, Michael Johnson and Andy Hatley as park commissioners; approved a plan to provide voluntary dental and vision coverage to employees' qualifying family members, with the full cost of the premium to be paid by the employee; voted to reimburse Boulder Avenue Christian Church $300 for the use of facilities for fire department training sessions; and honored all outgoing aldermen - including Randal Crouch, Robert Wiley, Freddie Harris, Larry Holman, Carruth and Mayor-elect Bill Eaton - and Mayor Tyrone Williamson.

Williamson thanked the citizens of Russellville for allowing him to serve a combined total of nearly 30 years as an elected official, while Steuber noted the council and its outgoing mayor had "cussed and discussed" many issues during their years of service together.

He spoke positively of the outcomes of many of those discussions, and indulged in a moment of nostalgia before the meeting progressed.

"You know, this is kind of a sad moment," he said. "I've been here two years and I think I've come to call all you fellows my friends."

For more on Thursday's city council meeting, including ongoing discussion of problems with the renovation at City Hall, see Sunday's edition of The Courier.